Essay feedback

Here we are again, back in the lab. I congratulate you on your work last week as you were all able to create your blog, write a post and connect with others to interact. Today you’re free to, again, work at your own pace, focusing on learning and improving your English.

Activity 1:

Publish your essay (about the poem) on your blog if you have not already done so. Then read three classmates’ essays and comment on 1-2 things that you liked—give example(s)—and 1-2 things that you think can be improved—give example(s).

Example: I liked how you started your paper. Asking a question to get the reader’s attention was effective. I also think you used good words. “Mundane” as in “this mundane world” was new to me. About possible improvements, be careful with your verb forms and spelling. Examples: I knew what he wants to say… “wants” should be “wanted”. And, “intresting” is spelled wrong.

IMPORTANT: If the person has already received three comments, go to somebody else’s blog!

Activity 2:

After you have received at least two comments on your essay, edit your own, taking into account your classmates’ feedback. Note that it may be easier to work in Microsoft “Word” then copy and paste your essay. Word also has spell check to help you.

Activity 3:

Check out one of these sites that relates to LOVE:

Writing Review
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1113_gramchallenge30/page4.shtml

Listening
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/general/sixminute/2009/02/090226_6minenglish_love_drug_page.shtml

Reading
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/movingwords/shortlist/augustine.shtml

Activity 4:

Open the Student Handbook and go to the Study skills section (p. 19) and practice what you need to practice.

Don’t forget your homework for Tuesday is to read the article about the Pope. Fill in the blanks with the correct verb form and try to guess the meaning of the underlined words based on context.

Alright, here we go...

Hello L3 Students,

Welcome to your first lab session. Today, what we’re going to do is get you all going on your blogs. When you leave class today, you should have your blog all set up with your classmates as “followers”. This will allow you to read your classmates’ blogs and comment on their postings.

1. To get started, go to the following website:

www.blogger.com (immediately set the language to English—top, right corner)

2. Optional: To practice some listening skills, click on “Watch a video tutorial” under “Learn More”.

3. Click on “create a blog” to be taken through the steps. If you have questions, ask a classmate or me.

4. Once you have created your blog, you will want to follow your classmates' blogs so you can interact virtually. To do this, take these steps:
Click on customize (top right of screen).
Click on “Add a gadget”.
Click on the plus sign (+) next to “Followers”

5. Return to your blog, click on "Customize" again, then "Dashboard". Scroll down, and click on "add". You now have to type in each of your classmates' blog websites.
(We will write them on the board).

6. Now, write your first post—introduce yourself, share something interesting. (min. 100-150 words.)

7. Visit at least two of your classmates’ blogs and comment on their first posts. You can write just a few sentences today.

8. Play around! Start to experiment to feel more comfortable.

Be sure you finish all of these steps before next Thursday's lab session.